


(To My Surprise) I Miss You

by the_technicolor_whiscash



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, General fluff, Professions of love, based during season 2 before Scully's abduction, sleepy mulder, they are two people very much in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-07-13 19:43:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16024688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_technicolor_whiscash/pseuds/the_technicolor_whiscash
Summary: After the dismantling of the X Files, Mulder and Scully see each other significantly less. They still work on cases, but have to resort to brief catch-up sessions at work. When Scully stumbles in on Mulder napping at his desk, she lets slip something that's been on her mind.





	(To My Surprise) I Miss You

**Author's Note:**

> im love them.

“Thanks, Scully. I’ll call you back.”

“Bye, Mulder.”

Scully put the phone back onto the receiver with a click. Mulder had been calling her throughout the process of his case, asking for her thoughts and advice. He had wanted her opinions when they were still working together, but now, it felt different. It felt like he was calling her out of obligation. He didn’t need to, but he still did. They didn’t have the time to spare to have the banter they used to. Their conversations were always quick and to the point.

And it made her sad. Their time working together had never been easy, as they were two very strong-willed people, but they were friends. She enjoyed being around him. Never in her life had she met someone willing to argue so passionately about his beliefs. She had a lot of fun with him. And now, what with barely being able to see him or speak to him… well, she missed him. 

Scully would never have expected to become such good friends with someone like Mulder. Scully, she was a woman of science. She was as much addicted to proving things through the scientific method as Mulder was to proving the supernatural. But as different as they were, they were also much the same.

That was probably the reason why she had fallen in love with him.

It wasn’t fair. None of it was. She never should have gotten so attached to him in the first place. But god, he was cute. Those puppy-dog eyes, that hair that was always slightly fluffier than it should be. His jawline that was both chiseled and soft at the same time. And his lips. His lips were gorgeous. Every single time she saw him, all she wanted to do was kiss those perfect lips. As time went on, it was getting harder and harder to resist. 

She probably would have asked him out earlier had he not been so damn focused on his work. Even when he wasn’t doing the X Files, he was still working to explain the unexplained. He got himself assigned to cases that somehow ended up with a supernatural answer. 

His new partner, that Krycek, she didn’t trust. He just seemed slimy somehow, but she couldn’t put her finger on why. Mulder didn’t trust him either, but then again, Mulder barely trusted anyone. Anyone except for Scully. 

She wanted to see him. Needed to see him. But she knew if she asked, he would just say how busy he was, and come up with some lame excuse. One of Mulder’s many skills, lame excuses. So she would have to get to him at a time when he couldn’t come up with an excuse to leave. 

His office. Of course. That tiny dark closet where they made him transcribe lots and lots of audio reels. Only the most interesting of cases for Mulder. 

Lucky for her, he no longer seemed to worry about people seeing the two of them together. For a while, it had been a cause of significant anxiety, especially after Deep Throat had been killed. But now, now was her chance, and she was going to take it. She wasn’t going to tell him how she felt, not yet. To spend time with him would be enough for now. 

His office didn’t really have a door, so there was nowhere to knock. She just walked in, and found him fast asleep with his head on the desk.

Scully chuckled. “Of course. The one time I come by to check on you, you’re asleep.” She pulled up a chair beside his desk. After a moment, she hesitantly ran her fingers through his hair. “Just as soft as I thought it would be.” She whispered. “Not that I was thinking about it that much. I just was curious. Not that you can hear me. Even after all we’ve been through, you’re still the heaviest sleeper I know.”

Naturally, Mulder didn’t answer, so Scully pulled out some paperwork from her briefcase and began to fill it out. But after a few minutes, she was distracted by the subtle sound of him sighing in his sleep. 

“God, you’re cute.” She smiled. “I wish I could tell you all this while you were awake, but for now, I’ll have to settle for this.” And, truthfully, it was helping. Getting it off her chest in any way was helpful. “I have the biggest crush on you, and you don’t even know. Or you do know, and you’re too much of a gentleman to tell me. Either way, I haven’t said anything before now.”

She leaned back in her chair, thinking. “I’ve never been the type of woman who has to wait for the man to ask her out, and I know that’s not the case with us. But I think the reason why I haven’t said anything is because I’m scared. Scared of you rejecting me. I know you’ve been busy, probably too busy for any type of relationship. Then again, so have I. But I just… I don’t know. I’ve gotten off subject.”

She checked her watch. There was an autopsy she had to be at in about half an hour. “Well, I’ve gotta go soon. This did not turn out the way I wanted it to go.” Scully ran her fingers through his hair again. Then, she placed a light kiss on top of his head. “I love you. You don’t know it yet, but I love you.”

Even after all that, Mulder didn’t wake. In fact, he seemed to be drooling on the table. 

“Gross. You’re drooling. Alright, it’s definitely time for me to go. Goodbye, Fox.”

Scully packed up her things and headed for the door. But as she was leaving, she heard a murmur from Mulder’s direction. “You know that no one calls me Fox. I don’t like the name when anyone says it. But I think you’re the exception.”

Scully paled. How much had he heard? “I, uh, I didn’t know you were awake.”

“I woke up when you moved the chair. You should have woken me up sooner. We could have gotten some work done.”

“Mulder, you barely sleep anymore. I wasn’t going to wake you regardless.” She made a point of checking her watch again. “Now, I really have to go. I’ve got an autopsy.”

“You go. Do your very important work. I’ll be here.”

“I know you will.” 

And with that, she was gone. But as she walked away, sadness welled again in the pit of her stomach. She knew she was walking away from the love of her life. But she really did have to go. And she knew she’d be back. She always went back to Mulder.

\--------------

Oh, Mulder had heard everything. Well, mostly everything. It was a rather dirty, childish trick, pretending he was asleep. But he really had wanted to know what she would say to him. People are much more talkative when they think the person they’re talking to is asleep. 

He loved Scully. Really, truly loved her, in every way he knew how. And she was right, he had been too busy to focus on any real relationship. But now, now that he was working in the cockroach den, he had all the time in the world. And Mulder spent a lot of that time focusing on Scully. It was the thing that kept him sane. 

Mulder had always kind of known that Scully reciprocated his feelings in some way. She was always very defensive of him, and took his side even when she disagreed with him. She was there for him, even throughout all the twists and turns they had been through. So of course, there was something more than friendship between them. It was only now that he knew his suspicions were true. 

But what could he do? He couldn’t very well tell her that he heard the whole thing. In a way, it would be violating her trust. He sat up in his chair and spun around a few times, only succeeding in making himself dizzy. 

He breathed out a laugh, and ran his fingers through his hair. It didn’t have the same effect as when Scully did it. Scully was magical like that. She was the only person who could say his name without it sounding weird. And, if he was being completely honest, it turned him on. 

Scully made his brain short out. She made him feel all giddy inside, like a schoolboy with a crush. He liked it, liked it a lot. He would propose to her right now if he had the chance, but she probably wouldn’t have accepted such an abrupt proposal. Scully seemed like the type of person to want to date for a while before marriage, and Mulder was perfectly fine with that. He would do anything for her. 

He spun his chair around again, and made a noise that could only be described as a giggle. “She thinks I’m cute.”

Mulder wondered whether or not he should ask her out. There was always the chance that she was waiting to ask him out, but he didn’t know how likely that would be. 

Two days later, Mulder sauntered into Scully’s office at Quantico, where she had been teaching lessons on autopsies. Absolutely disgusting, but it was something she was incredibly good at, and he admired that about her. She was able to handle gross stuff while still retaining her cool exterior. He hadn’t called before hand to mention that he was stopping by, but he figured she wouldn’t mind. 

Mulder found her focused intently on her computer, so much so that she hadn’t even noticed that he walked in until he started to talk. “Still browsing those Twin Peaks messageboards?”

“Mulder?” Scully said, her gaze shooting up to him. “What are you doing here?”

“I got bored in the FBI’s dirtiest broom closet and decided to pay you a visit.”

“Does your boss know you’re here?”

“Eh, maybe. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

Scully rolled her eyes. “The true face of an FBI professional.”

“Hey, I’m the most professional FBI agent there is. Professional is my middle name.”

“Fox ‘Professional’ Mulder. Did your mother pick it? Or your dad? Though it feels more like something a grandma would pick.”

“Ha ha. I hate my name enough, at least my parents blessed me with a normal middle name.”

“I don’t know if you’ve ever told me it.”

“It’s William. Nice and normal.”

“It doesn’t really fit your personality, though.”

Mulder gave her a playful grin. “You’re saying I’m not normal?” 

“I just mean that Fox suits you better, somehow. I don’t know. It just does.”

“I think you’re the only person on earth who thinks so.”

“If you don’t like it, you can always change it.”

“Nah. Don’t wanna bother going through the legal rigamarole.” He checked his watch. Almost noon. “Hey, you know anywhere to get a bite to eat around here? I haven’t had lunch since yesterday, and I’m dying for seafood.”

“I’ve got some work I should be getting done. Are you free another day?”

Mulder put a hand over hers, assuring he had her attention. “C’mon Scully, when you’re retired and thinking back on your time in the FBI, what are you gonna remember? Sitting doing paperwork all day, or skipping work and grabbing lunch with Spooky Mulder?”

Scully sighed, removing her eyeglasses. He knew she hated wearing them. He thought they looked perfect on her. “Alright, fine. But if my boss asks why I was gone, I’m throwing you under the bus.”

“Fine by me.” Mulder said. He could feel excitement welling within him. “Though if you do decide to murder me, the FBI’s best will be trying to solve the crime, and I’d hate to see you arrested for a reasonable crime.”

———————

Scully sat beside Mulder on a bench, dipping greasy fried clams into tartar sauce. She was desperately focused on making sure there was no physical contact between them at all. But it was a small bench, and Mulder’s knees kept bumping into hers. It was infuriating. But there was something still bugging her about this whole situation. 

“Mulder,” she began, “why are you here? And don’t tell me that it’s because you were bored. I know what you do when you’re bored, and driving an hour just for lunch isn’t it.”

Mulder took a deep breath, crunching on another clam. “I have a few reasons. And a few confessions. But it might take a bit, and I know you didn’t want to be away from work for too long.”

“That doesn’t matter. Tell me.”

“Well, for starters, I heard your whole confession when you thought I was asleep on my desk. It was very sweet. I’m more than flattered that you think I’m cute.”

Scully felt herself go pink. He was… not meant to have heard that. “God, I thought you were asleep the whole time. Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

“Because, people are more honest when the person they’re talking to is asleep. Really, I wanted to see what you would say. I’m sorry I didn’t mention it before now.”

Scully took a deep breath and turned away. “You weren’t supposed to hear it, I…”

“I know. But that brings me to another reason why I’m here.”

“I’m almost scared to ask.”

“I miss you, Dana.” His voice grew quiet. “In our time away from the X Files, I’ve realized that I miss you more than I could ever miss the work itself.”

Scully still couldn’t bring herself to look at him. “I miss you too. But Mulder–“

“Hold on, let me finish. In the time we’ve been apart, I’ve done a lot of soul-searching, mainly because I get bored out of my head and have nothing else to do. But in that time, I’ve gotten to realize the fact that not only do I miss you, but I love you. And I know you’re a professional, so I can understand if you don’t want to make anything of this, but if you’re willing, I’d like to make this work.”

Finally, Scully turned towards him. She took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts. “Well, you know my feelings towards you.” 

“So does that mean…”

“Yes, you nerd.” She smiled. “I will go out on a date with you. But I don’t want to tell anyone. Not yet. It might cause complications with the bureau, and I don’t want to go through any of that.”

Mulder cracked a grin. “Can I at least tell my mom?”

Scully rolled her eyes. “Yes, you can tell your mom. Now, shut up and kiss me before I get annoyed.”

“As you wish.”

**Author's Note:**

> I spent way too long working on this but I kept getting distracted because I was also watching the x files while writing this


End file.
